19 Villanova With an exciting freshman class joining a solid group of veterans, the Wildcats have heightened expectations--and the tools to meet them

It was meant to be a taunt, but when Pittsburgh fans began chanting "N-I-T! NI-T! N-I-T!" in the second half of a 71-59 victory over Villanova last February, it had an unintended effect on Wildcats coach Jay Wright, whose team was 12-6 at the time. "I heard them yelling," he says, "and I turned to one of our assistants and I said, 'God, I hope they're right. I'd love to go to the NIT.'" Wright laughs, then says, "This year's gonna be a little different."

It certainly is. After finishing 19-13 and winning two games in the NIT, Villanova no longer has the luxury of low expectations. To a core of four returning starters the Wildcats add their finest recruiting class ever, a sextet of gangly freshman, four of whom--Randy Foye, Jason Fraser, Allan Ray and Curtis Sumpter--are ready to make an immediate impact. (The other two, Baker Dunleavy and Michael Claxton, are raw but boast NBA bloodlines.) Among the newcomers, Fraser, a 6'10" McDonald's All-American, has Villanova fans the most excited, bringing them out en masse for a Midnight Madness celebration in which the freshmen foursome received the biggest roar. Long and athletic with flypaper hands, Fraser will start right away, giving the team a low-post presence and allowing bruising senior power forward Ricky Wright to float out to the perimeter on occasion.

If Villanova supporters have made Fraser feel welcome, he has returned the favor. His first week on campus he wandered around his dorm, dropping in on his floor mates. "I'd just walk in and sit down and talk to somebody," says Fraser, whose rich baritone and worldly manner suggest James Earl Jones trapped in Alonzo Mourning's body. "I like to open a dialogue with people, talk to them as Jason Fraser the person."

No doubt his classmates will appreciate the gesture, but it is Fraser the basketball player who has students on the suburban Philadelphia campus buzzing. After watching a recent practice, former LaSalle coach Speedy Morris, now a high school coach at Philadelphia's St. Joe's Prep, nodded in approval and made the following pronouncement about the team: "Sweet 16."

Coach Wright can only hope this prediction turns out as well as the last one. --C.B.

2001-02 RECORD: 19-13 (7-9, 5th in Big East East)TOURNAMENT: Lost to Temple in 3rd round of NIT

TELLING NUMBER92.7%Career free throw percentage of Gary Buchanan, who's on pace to break the Division I record of 90.9%, held by Greg Starrick.

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Blending the star freshmen in with the veterans could be a challenge

"The interesting thing is going to be watching how coach Jay Wright works everybody into the rotation. He lost only one starter from a team that won 19 games last year, and the four freshmen are getting a lot of hype. Those veterans have to be thinking, You know, we're pretty good too.... Jason Fraser is really long and active. He's a little raw offensively, but he'll be able to play volleyball off the backboard.... Ricky Wright is hard to contain. He's a little undersized, but he posts up well and explodes to the basket.... They need to take much better care of the ball. Derrick Snowden had to be their point guard last year, but this year it's going to be one of the freshmen, Randy Foye or Allan Ray.... If they cut down on their turnovers, they could be really good.... Gary Buchanan is a good offensive player."

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything